My space
We left for Ocean City, NJ on Thursday night, and returned home yesterday (Monday) evening. In between, we had the usual great time, which I would love to share with you, except I haven’t processed my photos yet. These are the ones I Instaflicked* this weekend, and if you follow me on any social media, you may have already seen them. I’ll be back later this week with a proper “What I Did on my Spring Vacation” essay. Suffice it to say, four days is never enough!
In other news:
I thought I’d point you to Wee Design Group. Wanda and I were in high school together (although, in true 21st century fashion, I think we’ve probably communicated more on Facebook than we ever did in person). When I saw her lovely Etsy shop, and the bird print she made in colors that were perfect (perfect, I tell you!) for my family room, I bought one on the spot. As you may remember, I’ve been paying some more attention (read: any attention at all) to that room lately and handmade touches are a big part of that. I want the artwork to be personal in some way, whether it be posters from Neil’s magazine, photos I took, or prints from old high school acquaintances.
Wanda has just started a blog series where she features room makeovers from her readers, and my family room got to be Reader Space #1! Cool, eh? Check it out. And while you’re there, have a look around. Wanda has some other cool weekly features. I especially like the style boards she makes based on products in her Etsy shop.
* Instaflick = an instagram-esque way I’ve devised to share my square-format photos, using flickr as a base of operations instead of (or sometimes in addition to) instagram.
Weekend Favorites
Some weeks, you can tell by looking at my Flickr favorites, what has been on my mind. Beach quilts, anyone? I’m getting in the mood to unfurl my own beach quilt on the sand. Soon!
On Flickr
The mosaic below represents other people’s pictures that spoke to me this week. Be sure to click on the titles below the mosaic, if you want to know more about the image or the photographer behind it.
1. Pillow Stack, 2. One of these pictures because it’s this time of year., 3. 20121109_quilts, 4. quilt, 5. Beach quilt on chair, 6. summer beach quilt, 7. orange crush revisited, 8. {HBM} Fox in Sox, 9. reading in bed
Around the Web
I spend an hour or so every morning, Monday through Thursday, sharing my favorite crafty links on Sulia. And then I repeat them here on Fridays.
Yarn
- Whimsylove shows you how to upcycle old cans into knitted vases.
- Granny squares of a million different sizes come together in a lovely way on this blanket by Buscando Comienzos
- Guy-friendly crochet blanket from Facil y Sencillo
- I love the name of this blanket from Crochet Today: The Man ‘Ghan
- Is it a tea towel or a blanket? (hint: it’s a blanket), from The Purl Bee
- Check out this great sweater recycle from LiveJournal’s _anemone_.
Fabric
- I’m slightly tea towel obsessed at the moment, so this project from The Purl Bee really grabs me.
- Analog Me shows you how to fix that too-big t-shirt.
- DIY mason jar sewing kits from Wait ’til your Father gets Home
- Loving this idea for a DIY shower curtain from Brett Bara via Design Sponge
- How to add a cuff to a pants or shorts pattern, from Me Sew Crazy via Craftaholics Anonymous
- Lovely little zipper pouches from Spotted Stones
Other materials
- Turn toilet paper rolls into festive party decorations, from Just Crafty Enough
- Mod Podge clip art coasters from Inspired Ideas
- Painting on rocks from Magsiesss Seaview Hideout
- Make this simple abstract botanical pendant from Mod Podge Rocks
Crafty business
- 5 things Brandi Girl Blog has learned about blogging so far
- 5 more things Brandi Girl Blog has learned about blogging
- 31 Days to a Better Photo from My 3 Boybarians
That ought to keep you busy for a little while. Stay out of trouble this weekend!
Having a Wonderful Time…
I heard somewhere, some time ago, that the closer you are to a super major metropolitan area (like NYC or LA), the less interesting your terrestrial radio choices become. Never having lived too far away from the looming shadow of New York City, I can’t say for a fact that this is true, but my gut tends to believe it.
My van is 10 years old, it’s most exciting audio technology it has being the CD player. It doesn’t play MP3 CDs, it couldn’t play satellite radio (were I a subscriber), and it has no input jack to allow a smartphone (which I don’t actually have) to play Pandora. [Also, if that image is any indication, it also needs a good vacuuming.]
So, if I want to listen to interesting* music, I have two choices: bounce around the FM dial on a song-by-song basis, or burn a CD mix.
* interesting = popular (or not) alternative-ish, indie-ish songs I like and recognize, peppered with a few new tunes to keep me entertained
Each of the main NYC popular commercial radio stations (and a few of the public radio stations, too) plays maybe 40% music I enjoy. If I could make a custom combination of, say, WPLJ and WFUV, I would be one happy camper. I’d remove the dance club element from one and the twangy element from the other, and be left with something I’d consider pretty listenable.
In the house, it’s no problem. I like Pandora a lot. My Pandora shuffle makes me super happy. The mix includes a selection of my Pandora stations that I switch around depending on my mood. For example, sometimes it’s heavy on the Innocence Mission, Crowded House, and 90′s alternative, while other times there’s a healthy dose of oldies in there (please, nobody tell me ’90′s music is technically “oldies.” I might cry.)
My Pandora quick mix is public. Listen for yourself, if you like!
But back to my car woes. I listen to a lot of mix CDs. Most of them I made myself, and sometimes Penny sends me something super cool. But inevitably, I get tired of what I have, and get the urge for a new mix.
Making a mix is a fun but labor-intensive prospect for me. I follow a few strict rules when it comes time to put one of these together:
- The styles of the songs must flow nicely from one to the next.
- The volume among the tracks must be consistent (I use mp3gain for this).
- There mustn’t be extra silence at the beginning and ending of tracks (I use mptrim for this).
- There must be a cool cover image involved (I used to use google images to find something suitable, but now I just use my own photos).
- There must be a track list that includes artist and song title (at least).
- The CD must always start and end with strong songs that make me happy.
- Sometimes there’s a theme, but usually it’s just newish-to-me music that I want to hear more of (over, and over, and over, and over again in the car).
This is sometimes a process that takes several hours: choosing the right tracks, putting them in the best possible order, adjusting track volume, making the cover… It’s a labor of love, really.
So last night, five months after Put on a Sweater, I birthed my newest CD: Having a Wonderful Time…
These are the tracks I would pick if someone asked me to do an hour-and-20-minute radio show right this very minute. Now and then, I hear a few of these tunes on my current car radio presets, but not to the degree that I’d like. (I’m guessing your own exposure to some of this stuff may vary, depending on where you live, and your car music options.)
I’ve added the playlist to my last.fm account, so you can have a listen (to the tracks where they allow that), if you like.
The image is one I took last year around this time when we were in Ocean City. I aged it with one of the apps I had on my tablet at the time (I forget which, now), but I think it looks a bit like an old postcard, if you can forgive the square shape of it. Plus it has all of that delicious whitespace, just begging for text.
How do you discover new music? And do you have a better way to share playlists than last.fm? (I would love to be able to share through Google Music, since I use that almost as often as Pandora, but it doesn’t appear to be an option.)
Vintage sheet extravaganza
Do you remember when we did the sheet swap last summer? It all happened right around the same time as Neil’s health issues were cropping up, and so I didn’t get to be as efficient at it as I had liked. And then when it was all over, I took my own precious little stack of sheets and tucked it away in my stash instead of using it on something cool.
Well, here we are 10-ish months later, and I finally dug into that stack. Three Sorbetto tanks, just for me:
This pattern gets easier to make with each one I do. I’m getting much better at darts and bias tape, that’s for sure.
The first top has some neckline issues, as does the third, but neither problem is a deal-breaker. I don’t even intend to fix the blue one. The gold one, though, I think I can improve upon, if I take a few minutes to re-sew that part.
I used custom bias tape where I had enough fabric, and store-bought where I didn’t. I like both looks.
And, bonus! The small pieces I had left of each sheet remnant were perfect for these:
These are for my 4-month-old niece. I made them all using the same pattern I have used before: the Made By Petchy Baby Dress. Aren’t they adorable? They’re so quick to whip up, and a great way to use those small pieces of fabric. I made each one just a tiny bit different from each other, either in the way the ties are threaded through the casing, or at the hemline (one of them is zig-zag stitched).
I wasn’t planning on using all of these swapped sheets for shirt-making, but the cotton lawns I ordered still aren’t here after nearly two weeks, and I just couldn’t wait any longer! I’ll just have to sew a few more shirts when the fabric finally arrives. You can never have too many handmade summer tops, I say!
Weekend Favorites
Hello, my favorite crafty people in the whole world! How are you on this lovely morning? It’s Friday, and I’ve got vintage fabrics, strawberry desserts and family gatherings on my mind for this weekend. Those are nice thoughts to have occupying your brain, I think.
Here are some photos and links for you…
On Flickr
The mosaic below represents other people’s pictures that spoke to me this week. Be sure to click on the titles below the mosaic, if you want to know more about the image or the photographer behind it.
1. Manta colorín 4 esquinas, 2. Blue sky clock, 3. Untitled, 4. Planted and ready to share!, 5. May Day, 6. Gargantilla turquesa-rojo, 7. Kananook Creek, 8. faux ceramic :”cosmic ceramic” tutorial, 9. pink binding!
Around the Web
I spend an hour or so every morning, Monday through Thursday, sharing my favorite crafty links on Sulia. And then I repeat them here on Fridays.
Yarn and Fabric
- Dirty Water Dyeworks will donate all proceeds from their new Boston Strong yarn
- Something you don’t see every day: a plastic canvas blog hop, hosted by CraftyPod
- Learn how to make your own t-shirt yarn from Craft passion
- knot•sew•cute design shop talks about yarn bowls and shares one alternative idea
- The Everyday Tote from The Purl Bee
Polymer Clay
- Maria Petkova’s Lazy Contour technique in polymer clay is fascinating. via Polymer Clay Daily
- Faux batik in polymer clay from Pavla Cepelikova
- You can make polymer clay look like ceramic clay, from Iris Mishly and Hilla Bushari
Other materials
- Image transfer tiles from The Pickled Herring
- Can you imagine walking down the aisle in a dress made of bread tags? Stephanie Watson did. via GeekCrafts.
- Been meaning to share this cabinet re-do from Attic24.
- A Boy And His Atom: The World’s Smallest Movie from IBM
- At Angry Chicken, they made a t-shirt for Dad with the kids’ drawings.
- This moment of quietude is sponsored by Beauty That Moves
- Don’t let your lunch packaging go to waste, from The Meta Picture
Crafty business
- If you sell your crafts, do you need a business plan? Handmadeology says yes.
- How Much Do Your Blog, Facebook, and Twitter Numbers Really Matter? from CraftyPod
That’s it for me. I hope you have a great weekend, especially all of you moms out there!
